Father Neleus Had How Many Sons?

Schol. A ad 11.692a

“There were twelve sons of blameless Neleus. According to the Separatists, Homer records that there were twelve children of Neleus in the Iliad but had three in the Odyssey where he provides the genealogy: “And I saw surpassingly beautiful Khloris” and soon after, “Nestor and Khromios, and proud Periklymenos”. It is likely that the children born before came to him from another woman and these three came from Khloris, for Priamos said, “I had fifty children. When the sons of the Achaeans came / 19 of them were from a single womb / the rest women bore to me in my home.”

δώδεκα γὰρ Νηλῆος <ἀμύμονος υἱέες ἦμεν>: πρὸς τοὺς Χωρίζοντας (fr. 5 K.), ὅτι ἐν μὲν ᾿Ιλιάδι δώδεκα Νηλῆος παῖδας λέγει, ἐν δὲ τῇ ᾿Οδυσσείᾳ τρεῖς γεγονέναι, ὡς γενεαλογεῖ· „καὶ Χλῶριν εἶδον περικαλλέα” (λ 281) καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς „Νέστορά τε Χρομίον τε Περικλύμενόν τ’ ἀγέρωχον” (λ 286). ἐνδέχεται δὲ προγεγονότων αὐτῷ ἐξ ἑτέρας γυναικὸς παίδων ὕστερον ἐκ Χλώριδος τοὺς τρεῖς γεγονέναι· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Πρίαμός φησι· „πεντήκοντά μοι ἦσαν, ὅτ’ ἤλυθον υἷες ᾿Αχαιῶν· / ἐννεακαίδεκα μέν μοι ἰῆς ἐκ νηδύος ἦσαν, / τοὺς δ’ ἄλλους μοι ἔτικτον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν <γυναῖ-κες>”